drilling kydex

payback462

payback462

Joined
Nov 2, 2001
Messages
667
last night i made my first kydex sheath, it was really easy and fun, until i got around to putting holes for the screws in it, the drill went through the first half fine, but when it got to the slippery inside peice halfway through it almost ripped the sheath apart when the top layer of the kydex got stuck on the bit.

what do you guys reccomend as the best method for putting holes in kydex?
 
I drill all my holes like you did. I use a pice or wood for backing and just hold the sheath firmly down to prevent what happened to you.
 
You shouldn.t have any problems with standard bits and good technique but if you do try bullet tip bits. B&D makes them and Lowes among others carry them.
 
wow, that was quick, thats for the advice guys!
i think ill invest in some new bits, and stop using my heavy duty drill

p.s. Rob your knives kick some serious A$$, once i get over my strider addiction ill definetly be picking up some of yours.
 
I'm not a knife or sheath maker. . .but have many many years working with wood and sheet metal.

You might want to try "pre-drilling" ~ first using a bit that's half the final bit size. . .

Just a thought.
 
Another trick you might try is to dull the bits a little...Instead of drilling through the material, it grinds through...

How's that for a choice of advice, use sharp drills, use dull drills...:)

This trick works best when trying to drill larger holes BWT...

Running Dog
 
I've had real good results with the Uni-Bit drills. They are the ones that have the stepped diameters running up the bit with a wedge cut the length of the bit to create the cutting face. They work great on a variety of materials including sheet metal.
 
Thin plastics are hard to drill. Since its sort of soft and flexible, as the tip of the bit starts to cut through, the hole stretches and the tip pops through without cutting the hole all the way. The fluting grabs the edges of the hole and will either bind up the drill or tear the hell out of what your drilling.
Use the sharpest bits you can,run the drill at full speed. And drill the hole as slowly as possibly. Let it DRILL instead of punch through.
 
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